Sustainable forest management

A. Ahlström has a long history as a responsible forest owner and manager. Sustainable and good forestry keeps forests vital and maintains growth, enabling forests to best sequester carbon. Sustainable and economical silviculture is an important value for us as a forest owner.

A. Ahlström has been owning forests for over 170 years, with a current total forest area of 36,000 hectares. These forests are managed economically and ecologically sustainable manner, with careful consideration of their social impact. Taking into account the diversity of forests and nature is one of our core operating principles.

Of the company’s forests, 1,600 hectares are entirely protected, and an additional 900 hectares are so-called restricted use areas where careful selective logging can be conducted.

Our large forest holdings are also an important carbon sink. The planting of new trees and the maintenance of seedling stands are essential measures for increasing and maintaining the carbon sink. Vitality of the forests increases the carbon sink of the forest.

Wetland that has been drained into woodland has a major effect on the annual growth of trees and carbon sequestration. These peatland forests are a way of ensuring carbon sequestration in the soil through logging that aims at uneven-aged management. This evens out fluctuations in the groundwater level, which slows down the decomposition of peat.